Catalogue of errors see trio face sack.

Byline: RHIANNON BEACHAM

THREE council workers could lose their jobs after a disturbed teenager was placed with a family with young children he went on to sexually abuse, their boss said yesterday.

The 19-year-old was jailed indefinitely in February after he admitted the rape and sexual assault of the two young children.

An urgent inquiry was launched and the resulting report, published yesterday, revealed mistakes were made by staff concentrating on the teenager's own vulnerability and not the risks he posed.

Director of social services at Vale of Glamorgan Council Philip Evans said three members of the seven-strong Leaving Care Team had been suspended.

The teenager was placed with a family by the council's Adult Placement Service despite having a history of sexual behaviour involving children.

The inquiry found that the Leaving Care Team did not pass on information about his background, and described their actions as naive.

"Seen for the most part as a victim in many aspects of his life, he was considered to be the one in need of protection," the report said. "Because of this focus, much of the relevant information was not made available to the parents of the children and to some of the staff involved in making decisions about providing accommodation."

Mr Evans said that, on the basis of the report, it had been decided to change all managers for the Leaving Care Team and remove all case responsibility from some case practitioners in the team.

Mistakes were also made when the children reported the abuse, the inquiry revealed and a risk assessment was not carried out despite an instruction in writing from a manager.